[PurpleAngel]

Good to know

I've seen a few post were someone has added an external amp (Magni) to the Z card and had a noticeable audio quality improvement.
Also if the amp used on the Z & Zx were really good, would not Creative also have used it on the ZxR?

 

[blueangel2323]

The only reason why you would want to get an audio card like the Asus is if you need the onboard DSP processing for gaming (surround decoding, effects, etc). Otherwise, just go with a DAC+amp combo. The Modi+Magni stack is a great choice on a budget. However with computer speakers you probably won't notice a big difference in sound quality. As for headphones, the AKG K550 has a great soundstage for a closed headphone, which would be good for gaming. Of course it doesn't have adjustable bass like the Custom One Pros.

 

[Tablix]

@Ridai you may want to look into this http://uk.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-surround-5-1-pro or http://www.audioquest.com/usb_digital_analog_converter/dragonfly-dac
or if you want something more pro-audio based gear http://uk.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-6i6 or http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=1166
 
Consider your budget, how portable you want to be, and connectivity in terms of what speakers you will be using.  For every $10 you spend do an hours research before you buy.  If your budget is just for an audio interface you have lots of options.  As you are in the UK try looking up Scan and dv247, I have used both before as suppliers of pc/audio gear and they both have real staff you can talk to in person if required.  Hope that starts a long journey of research and shopping

 

[Ridai]

  @Ridai you may want to look into this http://uk.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-surround-5-1-pro or http://www.audioquest.com/usb_digital_analog_converter/dragonfly-dac
or if you want something more pro-audio based gear http://uk.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-6i6 or http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=1166
 
Consider your budget, how portable you want to be, and connectivity in terms of what speakers you will be using.  For every $10 you spend do an hours research before you buy.  If your budget is just for an audio interface you have lots of options.  As you are in the UK try looking up Scan and dv247, I have used both before as suppliers of pc/audio gear and they both have real staff you can talk to in person if required.  Hope that starts a long journey of research and shopping

Oh wow these are some interesting options I will have to look at haha, thank you very much! Time to get researching

 

[SonicNemesis]

Crazy how I see this..  Im using the SBZ with DT770s for gaming.
 
http://i.imgur.com/NuxSgoX.jpg

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Crazy how I see this..  I'm using the SB-Z with DT770s for gaming.
 
http://i.imgur.com/NuxSgoX.jpg

Is the combo working well, does the Z's head amp feed enough juice to the DT770 Pro (250-Ohm?) headphones?

 

[SonicNemesis]

  Is the combo working well, does the Z's head amp feed enough juice to the DT770 Pro (250-Ohm?) headphones?

 
Yep, feeds them plenty.  I ran 300ohm headphones on this card for a couple weeks and couldnt turn them up near all the way.  The DTs sound great.